


Puppy Love

by JoMouse



Series: Tumblr Prompts [29]
Category: One Direction (Band), Zayn Malik (Musician)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Animal Transformation, Boys Kissing, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Magic, Mutual Pining, Puppy Liam, Puppy Love, Puppy Zayn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-03
Updated: 2017-06-03
Packaged: 2018-11-08 09:00:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11078328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoMouse/pseuds/JoMouse
Summary: Liam and Zayn wake up to find themselves in a hairy situtation.





	Puppy Love

**Author's Note:**

> This story was prompted by my friend and beta, Christina. She was very patient as it took me literally months to finish. Thank you also to Jenn for the beta. Any mistakes are mine.
> 
> The prompt was from [this list](http://josjournal.tumblr.com/post/149129315822/five-word-prompts) and it was: "Quit it or I'll bite!"
> 
> Really hope you guys like this big ball of fluff and angst.
> 
> xx-Joey
> 
> Don't know 'em. Don't own 'em. Don't show 'em.

Liam blinked his eyes, feeling a bit strange. Taking inventory, he realized he was sleeping on his stomach, his face buried under the pillow. He never slept like this. He raised his head, confused when the bed appeared a lot bigger than usual. He tried to remember if he’d gone home with someone the night before. The sheets were white, so that told him nothing.

The night before came back to him in bits and pieces as he squinted his eyes against the brightness of the sunlight reflecting off the sheets. He’d been planning on a movie night with his roommate Zayn, but the other boy had cancelled at the last minute to go out to dinner with a girl from one of his courses. Liam had grabbed the bottle of whiskey from the drawer where he kept it hidden, drinking and waiting for Zayn to get home in hopes of still watching at least one film before falling asleep. Glancing to his left, Liam spotted the now empty bottle next to him on the bed. He sniffed the air, wincing at the strong scent of stale alcohol that filled the room.

Suddenly, he heard a strange sound that nearly drowned out Zayn’s voice calling for help. He pushed himself up, rolling off the bed, yelping when he hit the floor.  _ When did the floor get so far away? _

He tried to stand, but when he pushed up, he fell back to all fours. Glancing down, he yelped again. Those weren’t his hands! Those were paws! Scurrying on all fours towards the full-length mirror across from Zayn’s bed, freezing when instead of his face looking back at him, there was a puppy. Liam blinked. The puppy blinked. Liam started to shout for Zayn. The puppy started yipping.

“Liam!” Zayn’s voice came through again, and Liam identified the strange sound surrounding Zayn’s shouts as howling.

Liam felt his heart clench, his friend was in trouble. He raced and stumbled towards Zayn’s voice, discovering it was coming from the bathroom. The door was closed. Liam jumped up to push on it, but it wouldn’t budge. He shouted through the door, now hearing the echoes of his own yips. He had no idea what was going on, but it sounded like Zayn was in the same kind of trouble.

“Zayn! What’s happened? You gotta come out! You’ll never guess-”

“Who the fuck let a dog in here?” Louis grumbled as he stormed out of the room he shared with Harry wearing just a pair of boxers that were barely on. In fact, when Liam stopped to look at him, he wondered if maybe they were Harry’s. 

Liam abandoned the door to charge at Louis, jumping up to hit him in the shins. He tried to tell Louis what was going on, but all he managed to accomplish was to realize that Louis had no idea what he was saying. So, Liam ran back to the bathroom door and started barking and throwing himself at it again. 

“Zayn! Zayn! Zayn!” Liam shouted, getting more and more scared as Zayn didn’t respond other than cries for help and howls. Liam started to scratch at the door.

“Woah, pup, you’re killing the door!” Louis shouted, scooping Liam up into his arms. Liam snarled at him, then blinked rapidly when Louis swatted him on the nose.

Liam was pretty proud of the growl he loosed at Louis, but it only earned him another swat. “Quit it or I’ll bite,” Liam warned struggling to get back down to the ground, but realized how futile it was to threaten when Louis couldn’t understand him.

“You can’t bite him, Liam!” Zayn barked through the door, reminding Liam of what he’d been doing. Liam started flailing in Louis’ arms, barking louder when Harry wandered into the hallway.

“What a cutie!” Harry squealed, reaching for Liam. He scooped him up and rubbed his nose against Liam’s. Liam couldn’t help licking the tip of Harry’s nose and then wondered what the heck he’d been thinking. “He likes me!”

“Yeah, yeah, very nice. However, there seems to be another one stuck in the bathroom,” Louis said, trying the door and groaning when he found it locked. “Niall!” Louis shouted.

Niall stuck his head out of his room, smiling wide and rubbing at his eyes. “Yeah?” He looked at Liam in Harry’s arms. “We got a dog?” There was more barking from the bathroom. “Two dogs?”

“I’m not sure where the dogs came from, but since it’s not one of the three of us, I suspect it’s our two missing flatmates,” Louis snarked, glancing towards Liam and Zayn’s room. “Oi! Payno! Malik!” he shouted.

“Wait, who’s in the shower?” Niall asked, knocking on the door, causing the howling to increase.

“Zayn is!” Liam barked, trying to wiggle out of Harry’s arms.

Louis stormed towards Liam and Zayn’s bedroom, stopping in the doorway before turning back to them with a smirk. “Since Li’s pajamas are scattered all over the bed, I would assume that he’s the one in the shower, but Zayn’s not here either.”

“Or they both are,” Niall said, waggling his eyebrows, stopping the barking from both pups.

_ “What?” _ Liam thought.  _ “Why would we be in the shower together?”  _ The howling from inside started up again quickly, nearly drowning out Liam’s confused ponderings.

“If anyone’s in there, why are they ignoring a dog go-” A loud crash and yelp from the bathroom stopped everyone.

“Ouch!” Zayn shouted, his voice muffled by whimpers.

Liam panicked, shoving himself out of Harry’s arms, only feeling a little bad when he heard Harry utter his own, “Owwwwwww.” He hit the floor hard, stumbling with a whimper, but ignoring his own pain in his concern for Zayn. He started scratching at the door again.

Suddenly, Liam wasn’t the only one moving. There was a lot of commotion as the three boys started realizing the situation might be more serious than they’d originally thought. “We gotta get the door open!” Louis shouted, stretching to reach above the doorframe, glaring when Harry reached up easily and retrieved the key. Harry unlocked the door. Liam squeezed through as soon as it was open the slightest bit, causing the door to slam into the wall, startling a yelp out of both puppies. 

“The shower curtain fell,” Louis said, stepping around Harry to reach the tub.

Liam was scrambling at the porcelain, trying to see over the top. He could hear Zayn still whimpering on the other side. “Zayn! You alright?” 

“Hurt my paw. I have fucking paws, Li!” he yelped back. 

“Me, too!” Liam barked, nearly rolling his eyes, wondering how Zayn had managed to miss the barking that kept surrounding his own voice.

Louis tried to nudge Liam aside as he knelt next to the tub and reached inside. Liam put his front paws on Louis’ knees as he gently moved the shower curtain around, the rings rattling against the rod. Finally, he heard a small growl that actually sounded like Zayn when he had to wake up too early for class. He watched as Louis pulled out a black and brown ball of fur, cradling it to his chest as it continued to whimper Liam’s name.

Louis settled onto the floor with his back to the tub, looking over the puppy in his arms, gently prodding and apologizing when the puppy whimpered when he pushed on his paw. Liam climbed into Louis’ lap, nosing at the side of Zayn’s head. “Alright?”

Zayn nodded his head. “Paw hurts. Damn rod fell on it.” He nosed back at Liam, causing Harry to coo fondly. “Leeyum, what’s going on?”

“Dunno,” Liam responded, looking up at Louis who was watching carefully. “They don’t understand us though.” Now that Zayn was out of immediate danger, Liam took in his surroundings, the smell of cheap perfume nearly choking him. He sneezed twice and glared at the pile of Zayn’s clothing near the sink.

“How did it get locked in the bathroom?” Niall questioned, reaching down to pick up Liam who struggled against him until he realized Louis was getting up as well, Zayn still cradled in his arms.

The boys carried the puppies into the sitting room, dropping down on the sofa while Harry disappeared into the kitchen, reappearing a few minutes later with a bowl of water that he set on the floor. “We’ll need to get them food,” he said.

“We’re not keeping them,” Louis argued, growling back at Liam when he growled in disagreement. 

“We can’t get rid of them. Look how cute they are!” Niall said, snuggling his nose into Liam’s neck, making him squirm a bit. “This one looks like Beethoven! We should get a little barrel and collar.” Liam tilted his head, staring at Niall. “I think…” Niall lifted him up, looking at his stomach for a moment, making Liam uncomfortable. “He likes the idea.”

Louis rolled Zayn over on his back, tickling at his belly and earning nips to his fingers even as Zayn’s back leg started to thump against Louis’ stomach. “This one’s a boy, too.”

Liam yelped, “Hey!” when he realized what they’d been looking for. He glared at Zayn as best he could when his mate giggled, a strange sound when combined with the puppy grumbling that covered it.

“Chill out, Leeyum,” Zayn said, rolling over and tumbling off Louis’  lap onto the sofa. He stumbled over to Liam, trying to climb up into Niall’s lap to nose at Liam’s ear. “Until we can figure out what’s going on, we might as well enjoy it, yeah?”

“You were hotboxing in the loo before your shower, weren’t you?” Liam yipped. Zayn barked out a quiet denial, making Liam feel a bit guilty for being techy. After all, he and Zayn were in the same predicament. Liam nudged his nose against Zayn’s ear, snuffling and earning a bit of a laugh as Zayn tumbled off of Niall and back onto the sofa. 

Zayn barked at him, a challenge in his eyes. Liam yipped, leaping off Niall’s lap onto Zayn, sending the both of them rolling off the sofa and onto the floor. They rolled around nipping at each other’s ears, laughing. They came to stop when they hit the far wall. Standing, they shook their heads before looking at each other, tongues hanging out and panting. 

The other three boys laughed at the puppies growling and playing. “Okay, maybe we can keep them,” they heard Louis say from his spot on the sofa where he had his phone out from filming the puppies before sending it off to his sister. 

A couple of hours later, Zayn and Liam were closed up in the bathroom while the others went shopping for pet supplies. “They’re going to be upset when we change back,” Zayn said, lying on his back, paws waving in the air while Liam paced the length of the room, whimpering the entire time. The cloying scent of perfume had faded a bit, but he still gave Zayn’s clothes a wide berth and dirty looks.

“ _ If  _ we change back,” he responded, dropping to lie next to Zayn, head on his paws.

Zayn rolled over, ending up half atop Liam. After some maneuvering, he laid down so they were nose to nose. “Damn, your puppy eyes are even worse as an actual puppy.”

Liam snorted but tilted his head as he looked at Zayn. “You still have your eye freckle.” 

The two brown spots above Zayn’s eyes rose, and Liam closed his eyes around a huff. “You noticed that?” When Liam didn’t respond, Zayn scooted closer, bumping his nose against Liam. “Hey, sit up for a second.”

Liam pushed himself to sit, eyes still closed. After a moment, he felt Zayn nuzzling at his neck. Liam giggled at the sensation, trying to duck away, but Zayn stood on his back legs, front legs resting on Liam’s shoulders, holding him in place. He nudged against Liam’s cheek. “You still have your birthmarks, they’re just furry now!” Liam tried to stand up on his hind legs as well, knocking them both to the floor in a heap. 

They started rolling again, Liam glad for the distraction. After a few moments, he managed to get Zayn pinned beneath him, both of them panting and laughing. It felt like the early days when they’d first become friends before things like crushes and feelings got in the way. Glancing down, Liam chuckled. “You still have your heart tattoo!” He pushed a paw against the furry brown heart on his tummy, laughing when Zayn growled at him.

They played like that for a few more minutes before Zayn suddenly sat up and scooted away from Liam. Liam tilted his head, watching Zayn begin to pace. “What’s wrong?” Zayn didn’t answer, just kept pacing. After a few moments, Zayn began to whimper, looking at Liam with absolute misery in his eyes. “Seriously, mate, what is it?”

Zayn moved closer to Liam, sticking his nose in Liam’s ear before urgently whispering, “I have to wee!”

“We’re in the loo.” Liam really couldn’t see the issue, but maybe Zayn was shy. “I’ll turn my back.”

Zayn made a sound that might have been a snort but sounded like a puppy sneeze. “And where should I go?”

Liam looked towards the toilet and then realized how large it looked. “Oh.”

“Yeah,  _ oh _ ,” Zayn mocked.

Liam glanced towards the pile of clothes, debating telling him to piss on them to get rid of the terrible scent of that girl. He shook himself to clear his thoughts before he did something stupid like pee on them himself. He looked at the toilet again, noticing it was open.

“Just climb on my back. Niall left the seat up,” Liam said after a moment of thought. He stood next to it, bracing himself as Zayn looked at him like he was insane. “C’mon. It’s either that or wee on your clothes.” Zayn tilted his head as if he was considering it and Liam admitted he really wished he would, the perfume tickling his nose again. 

“My luck, Louis will rub my nose in it,” Zayn muttered around a sigh. 

Carefully, Zayn put his paws on Liam’s back and began trying to stand on him. “You’re heavier as a pup,” Liam huffed, earning a small growl. 

Zayn managed to pull himself up onto the edge of the toilet, realizing quickly why his mum used to complain about him leaving the seat up when the cold went straight through him. After a moment, he began to try to scoot so that he was straddling the bowl with all four paws. “Almost there,” he said to Liam who let out a whoop. The noise startled Zayn, and he jumped, losing his balance. He only managed an, “Oh shit,” before he fell into the bowl.

Liam looked up at the epitaph and the splash, getting a faceful of water that was being sent over the edge by Zayn’s frantic movements. Putting his paws up on the side of the bowl, Liam started shouting for Zayn, trying to calm him down. “You’re a dog. Dog paddle!”

The door to the bathroom opened with a bang. “The neighbors are going to throw a fit if these two do-Oh no!!!” Louis raced over to the toilet and fished Zayn out, holding him at arm’s length to look him over before depositing him in the bathtub. Liam raced over, putting his paws on the tub, only to be lifted and deposited next to Zayn. “Bathtime for you two. What were you doing playing in the toilet?”

Zayn scurried away from the water when Louis turned it on, putting Liam between himself and the faucet as Louis pushed in the plug, allowing the tub to fill. “Pee quick,” Liam said.

“Too late,” Zayn hissed back, embarrassment flooding him at the admission and memory of the fear when he’d fallen in the toilet. He was thankful puppies didn’t blush.

A half-hour later, Zayn and Liam were asleep, curled up together in fluffy towels on the sofa while the boys discussed the puppies. “Still no idea where they came from,” Niall said, smiling as Zayn’s feet began to fidget. “They’re cute. They need names.” Liam snuffled, blinking open his eyes for a moment before snuggling closer to Zayn and going back to sleep.

“Beethoven and Killer,” Louis said, decisively, causing Niall to break into a guffaw, completely waking both of the puppies up.

“I don’t think this one looks like a Killer,” Harry said, referring to Zayn who yawned loudly before trying to burrow deeper into the towels. After a moment, he peeked back out of the towel at Liam who was staring up at Harry with imploring eyes. 

Zayn yipped at Liam, who looked away from Harry, and the banana he was opening, with a sad look. “Hungry,” he muttered to Zayn. 

Zayn whimpered, watching as Harry settled onto the floor, back leaning against the sofa next to where the puppies were lying. With a quick, “Hold on,” Zayn scooted on his tummy until he could lay his head on Harry’s shoulder. Gently, he took the ends of Harry’s hair in his teeth and tugged. Harry turned towards the sofa with a soft smile, shrieking when Zayn suddenly dove forward with a yelp, grabbing the banana. Tumbling to the ground, he landed on his back with the banana atop of him. “C’mon, Liam!” he shouted.

Liam barked happily as he hopped off the sofa onto Harry. He gave the confused boy a quick lick to the cheek before moving to the floor and over to Zayn. The two of them began chewing on the banana together. “Thank you, Zee,” Liam said around a mouthful of food.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Zayn responded after he swallowed.

Harry was watching them. “It’s almost like they’re talking to each other,” he said, earning a laugh from the others. Lying on his stomach, Harry got down so he was face to face with the puppies. They stopped eating to stare back. Harry reached a hand out and poked at Liam’s neck before turning to Zayn, narrowing his eyes as he looked him over. “Have you guys heard from Liam and Zayn?”

“No,” Louis said, pulling his phone out and dialing Liam, wondering where their two flatmates could possibly have ventured off to so early in the morning to be gone all day. Especially without telling anyone that they were leaving. Music sounded down the hall from Liam and Zayn’s room.

Liam took off running towards the room, Zayn on his heels. Once inside, Liam tripped up on his jeans that were on the floor, sending him tumbling. Zayn tried to stop himself from running into him but failed, so that he went rolling across the floor until he hit the wall. Standing up, he shook his head as he saw Liam trying to climb the blankets onto his bed.

The phone stopped ringing, and Liam let himself fall to the floor with a huff. Zayn wandered over to him, a bit wobbly still from his run-in with the wall. Collapsing next to Liam, he whimpered against his neck, actually whimpered. The combination of the human and canine whimper broke Liam’s heart and he longed to run a hand over Zayn’s head to comfort him but settled for nuzzling against his neck instead.

“This place smells like a brewery, Li. What’d you do? Drink the entire bottle?” Zayn asked, trying to distract himself from the dizziness.

_ “Better than swimming in some tramp’s perfume,” _ Liam thought, immediately feeling a bit guilty for his pettiness, but not enough to stop himself from thinking it.

Harry came into the room and settled on the floor next to them, he ran a hand over Liam’s head. “Hey, Li,” he whispered, chuckling when the puppy looked up at him, mouth agape. “Thought so.” Harry reached out to tickle the fur at Liam’s neck. Then he started to tickle Zayn’s side until he showed his belly, and Harry ran a finger over the heart-shaped brown spot. “And Zee. What did you boys do?”

“Wish he could understand us,” Liam said, sighing.

“D-O-G,” Zayn responded.

“Yes, we are dogs. Thanks for the reminder, I’d almost forgotten,” Liam snapped, his tone sullen and his head still hurting.

“No, you donut. I was trying to see if we could still spell.” Zayn stood and crossed over to his desk chair, attempting to climb up on it. After a bit of struggle, Liam moved to help push him up, much like he’d done with the toilet. 

“Always helping him out, aren’t you, Liam? Even as puppies, you two are thick as thieves,” Harry said, smiling as he moved over to the desk chair, picking Zayn up and setting him on his lap. Liam barked from the floor until Harry picked him up to sit next to Zayn.

“Right next to you, Leeyum,” Zayn teased before stretching to put his front paws on the desk and started slapping them against the laptop that was open there. Harry reached over and turned the laptop on. As it came to life, Zayn pulled himself onto the desktop, moving carefully over to the pencil cup. He stuck his nose in for a moment before stepping backward with an unsharpened pencil between his teeth, sticking straight out.

Moving slowly so he didn’t trip and end up as a rottweiler on a stick, Zayn approached the laptop again. He used the eraser end of the pencil to push down the shift key and then looked across the keyboard with a sigh. He growled around the pencil at Harry and tapped it on the  _ shift _ key. 

“What?”

Zayn growled again and kept tapping the key until Harry’s face lit up with recognition. He reached over to hold down the  _ shift  _ key. Zayn moved to press the eraser to depress the letter  _ P _ . He turned back and tapped the pencil against Harry’s hand, smiling when he released the caps lock key. As Harry and Liam watched, he moved the pencil to the left and down before pausing. He looked up at them both with an oddly pointed look. Harry covered his eyes with one large hand while Liam laid his chin on the desk to put both paws over his head. It looked like he had his eyes covered, but he could still watch Zayn from under his paw.

It took several moments as Zayn moved from one end of the keyboard to the other, slowly spelling out his password:  _ Payno0829.  _ Liam felt his jaw gaping but snapped it shut before he could question Zayn who gave a bark to let them know he was done. As he thought about it, Liam really couldn’t say anything since his password was  _ Ziam4Eva _ . In his defense, he’d set it while drunk one night after having accidentally walked in on Zayn wanking.

Zayn used his nose to move the wireless mouse until it was over the icon for his word program. With a paw, he double clicked and a blank document opened. Then he picked the pencil back up. He sat down, tilting his head to stare at Harry. “What? Oh! You want me to ask questions?” Zayn stood up and moved to the keyboard and typed, “ _ Y” _ . 

“Wouldn’t it have been easier if we just barked once for ‘yes’ and twice for ‘no’?” Liam asked, flinching at the withering look that Zayn gave him.

“Are you two actually talking to each other?” Harry asked. Liam barked once while Zayn typed,  _ “Y”  _ again. “When did this happen?” Zayn raised the two brown spots on his forehead at Liam who grumbled as he laid down in Harry’s lap, trying to force his head under Harry’s hand so he didn’t have to look at Zayn, letting his pissy mood take over for a bit.

_ “this am,” _ Zayn typed out, wishing he could type faster and with proper capitalization and punctuation, but realized it was pointless; he could only do what he could do. 

“What were you doing when it happened?” Harry asked, running a hand over Liam’s head, laughing when Liam turned his head to nip and lick at his fingers. He picked Liam up, cuddling him to his chest and pressing a kiss to the top of his head. Zayn let out a small growl before he could stop himself. “Relax, Zee.” Harry chuckled as he put Liam back down close to Zayn who dropped the pencil to nudge him with his nose before licking his ear, causing Liam to huff out a laugh and lick back. “Hate to interrupt this love fest, but we’ve a mystery to solve.”

“Love fest?” Liam asked Zayn who tilted his head, looking as confused as Liam felt; they weren’t acting any differently than they normally did as mates, except for having to adjust from tickles to nose nudges and other things.

“Harold!” Louis shouted.

“Not my name!” Harry shouted back as Liam and Zayn spoke along with him, filling the room with silly yips and growls.

Louis and Niall entered the room arguing quietly, stopping when they saw Zayn tapping the pencil against the keyboard. “Hey!” Louis shouted, grabbing Zayn and yanking him away from the desk, earning snarls from Zayn which would have seemed threatening if he wasn’t hanging upside down in Louis’ arms. “You shouldn’t be letting the pups touch Zayn’s stuff!”

Liam was yelling at Louis, struggling to get down from Harry’s lap, finally stopping his struggle to stand on Harry’s lap to put both paws on Harry’s chest. He looked deep into Harry’s eyes, speaking slowly. “Put me down, Harold.”

“Not my name,” Harry said as he set Liam on the ground, the both of them freezing at the same time as they realized what had just happened. “Wait, what?”

“Harold!” Liam barked jumping around the room. “Zayn!” he shouted at the still snarling puppy, causing him to stop and stare. Harry shook his head, frowning. Liam stopped and shouted, “Harold!” again, feeling hopeful.

“Didn’t catch that, Li,” he said.

“What?” Louis said, nearly dropping Zayn. “What do you mean -  _ Li _ ? That’s Beethoven.”

Harry slid off the chair to the ground trying to pull Liam back towards him. He grabbed him by the cheeks and forced him to look him in the face. “Say again. Slowly. Focus.”

“What are-” Louis started, only to be shut up by a side-glare from Harry.

Liam groaned, but looked at Harry, meeting his eyes. “You can understand me?” he spoke slowly, the canine sounds leaving his mouth sounding odd to the others.

“Yes, I can understand you.” He laughed as he looked at Louis. “Give me Zayn.”

“Excuse me?” Louis asked, looking down at the pup in his arms who started barking again. “This is Killer.” Zayn raised his brows at him. “Zayn?” He nipped at his wrist, causing Louis to drop him, luckily Harry was quick and caught him before he hit the ground.

Niall moved to kneel next to Liam, smiling when Liam put his paws on Niall’s knees and pressed his nose to Niall’s. “Feed me,” he said, giggling when Niall’s eyes widened. 

“What do you want? Lou bought some kibble.” Liam growled. “Alright, alright,” Niall said, laughing and holding his hands up in surrender. “Let me go reheat some of the chicken from last night.”

“No chicken bones!” Liam barked at his back, trying to chase after him, but Louis grabbed him around the waist and picked him up to lift him above his head. Liam was wiggling too much for the two to make eye contact. “Put me down.” Liam glared at Louis who laughed.

“I’m not hearing anything other than barking, but I’m guessing he wants me to put him down.” Liam managed to nod his head, still barking. “Not happening, Payno,” Louis said, holding Liam under his arm like a football as he dropped to the floor next to Harry and Zayn who were looking intently into each other eyes.

“Zayn was in the shower when he changed. Said he heard some strange music and next thing he knew, he was a puppy,” Harry explained. “Right?” Zayn barked in agreement, turning to look up at Liam. “Where were you, Liam?”

“Sleeping!” Harry shook his head, not understanding. He turned back to Zayn who repeated the word.

“Okay, so you weren’t doing the same things. Zayn heard music.” Harry was tapping his chin, while Zayn was looking up at Liam. “Liam, were you dreaming?” Liam was squirming, trying to get away from Louis, his attention not on Harry at all.

“Liam!” Zayn barked harshly, freezing him in place. 

“What?” He started wiggling again before Zayn could respond. Zayn huffed and moved away from Harry to stand next to Louis. Looking up at Louis, he waited until he had the boy’s attention before lifting his leg.

Louis screeched, scrambling away from Zayn and tossing Liam at the same time. Thankfully, he tossed Liam with enough force that he landed on Zayn’s bed with a bounce. “You were going to pee on him?” Liam asked once he’d recovered and moved to the edge of the bed, looking down at Zayn.

“If I had to,” Zayn said and, if he’d been human, he would’ve shrugged. With one last look at Louis who was watching him warily, Zayn returned to Harry’s side, pawing at his leg until he looked down and made eye contact. “Tell Louis to stop manhandling us.”

They both looked over and found Louis lying on his stomach on Zayn’s bed. Liam was in front of him, trying to press their foreheads together, but Louis kept reaching out to poke at him, making the task impossible with every giggle that Liam let out. Zayn growled lowly and Liam slid off the bed, landing in a tumble on the floor before walking over to him. “Someone’s jealous,” Louis sing-songed, earning a head tilt from Liam.

“I think Zayn just wants to figure out how to get them out of this, er…” he started to say as both Liam and Zayn scrambled jumping up to put their paws over his mouth. “ _ Hairy _ situation,” he finished, laughing when the puppies fell to the floor with aggravated huffs. 

“It was just a matter of time,” Zayn observed, swatting at Liam’s ear.

“Thinks he’s so  _ doggone  _ funny,” Liam responded, snorting out a laugh as Zayn launched himself at Liam, the two of them tumbling across the floor. “Couldn’t resist!”

The pups stopped wrestling, noses twitching when Niall entered the room with a plate in his hand. Setting it down, they discovered a pile of shredded chicken. “Sorry it took so long, mate, but I had to make sure there were no bones. Don’t need you two choking to death.” The puppies ran for the plate, bumping noses as they dove at the food, upending the plate and scattering pieces across the floor. 

“I don’t think we’re going to get anything figured out until they’re done eating,” Louis said, climbing off the bed and heading out of the room. 

Harry remained where he was as Niall settled on the ground. He picked up a couple pieces of chicken, holding them out to Liam who took them carefully. When he was done, he climbed onto Niall’s lap, waiting until he pressed their foreheads together. “Thank you, Niall.”

“Anytime, Payno,” Niall responded, ruffling the fur on the back of Liam’s neck, laughing loudly when Zayn came over and pushed Niall’s hand off Liam and laid a piece of chicken by Liam’s foot.

“Eat more,” he said. “You haven’t eaten.”

“Neither have you,” Liam argued, nosing the chicken back towards Zayn.

“Ate before my shower,” he said, picking the chicken up and dropping it on Liam’s front paw.

“You got up early to eat? I highly doubt that.” He flicked his paw, chuckling when the chicken landed on Zayn’s nose.

“Just got home when I got in the shower,” Zayn said, offhandedly. He moved carefully to drop the chicken in front of Liam.

Ignoring the offered treat, Liam gaped at Zayn. “You were out all night?”

“Yeah,” Zayn said, looking from the chicken to Liam, waiting for the game to continue.

Liam opened his mouth and snapped it shut again, his teeth clacking and startling Harry and Niall into silence. He looked at Zayn for a long moment before turning towards his bed. Ducking to lie on his stomach, he pulled himself under the bed and kept moving until he was against the back corner wedged up against the wall. 

“Leeyum?” Zayn called.

Liam curled into himself, ignoring Zayn’s voice. He knew he was pouting and being stupid. He had no claim on his friend. If he wanted to stay out all night, that was his prerogative. The truth was, and Liam hated to admit it, he was jealous. He missed hanging out with Zayn. Since this semester had started, the boy had been spending more and more evenings away from the flat, coming home in the early morning hours smelling like weed and perfume. Every time it happened, Liam pretended to be asleep, even on those nights Zayn had climbed into bed with him looking for a cuddle, because he wasn’t sure what to say to the person he thought knew him better than anyone else in the world but was completely blind to what he was feeling.

“Li?” Zayn said again, his voice closer. Liam looked up to see Zayn moving closer, his head and front paws underneath the bed. “What’s wrong?” he asked when their eyes met.

Liam snorted. “What’s wrong? What’s wrong!?” He was incredulous to how dense his supposed best mate was being and almost spilled out everything but thought better of it. “I’m a dog!” He shouted the first thing that popped into his head instead of what he really wanted to say.

“So am I,” Zayn pointed out, his voice calm as he crawled closer. “We’re trying to figure out how to change us back, but you aren’t helping hiding under the bed like a child.”

They heard Louis come back into the room, shouting about the commotion, but Liam was too angry to pay any attention to him. “I’m acting like a child? Fuck you,” Liam snapped, his lips curling up in a snarl. “Fuck you and your little bitch, too!” Liam started growling, the human words he wanted to say lost in literal animalistic rage. He was so angry, so hurt, that the pain in Zayn’s eyes as he backed out from under the bed didn’t even register.

As soon as Zayn was gone, Liam stopped snarling and put his head on his paws. He could hear Harry talking quietly and wondered if he was talking to Zayn, but then he heard Louis groan and hop off the bed. “You talk to that one. I’ve got the other one.”

A few moments later, Niall and Harry were both looking under the bed, slightly apprehensive expressions on their faces. Liam screamed as loudly as he could, “GO AWAY!” but instead of them leaving, Niall began to reach a hand out cautiously, making soothing sounds.

“Please don’t bite me,” he was saying. “Be a good, Payno. Don’t bite me.”

Liam snorted and rolled his eyes, earning a chuckle from Harry. “Don’t think you need to worry about that. We’re not the ones he’s upset with.” Turning his attention back to Liam, he smiled sweetly. “C’mon out for a cuddle, pup.”

With a sigh, Liam crawled out from under the bed and allowed Harry to pull him up onto the bed. Niall joining them and repeatedly running a gentle finger between Liam’s eyes and over his nose. Harry laid Liam between them and cuddled him close. “You don’t need to try and talk about it, maybe some sleep will help.” Liam didn’t think sleep would help anything, but he felt warm and safe, so he found his eyes drifting shut anyway.

Zayn was in the living room, attempting to tear apart one of his sketchbooks when Louis found him. He hadn’t intended on destroying the book, he was only acting on instinct. Whenever he was upset lately, he would come into the sitting room and pull this book from under the sofa and begin sketching. Unfortunately, he quickly discovered that sketching was not a skill he had maintained as a puppy. So, he’d done the only thing he could, started chewing on a blank page.

Louis yanked the book away from him, causing the page to tear and Zayn to growl as he spit out the paper that had remained in his mouth. He put his paws on Louis’ legs, yelling at him to give the book back, but instead, Louis started flipping through the pages, his face going slack in surprise.

“These are all of Liam,” he said, turning to show Zayn like he didn’t know what the book contained.

“No shit, Sherlock,” Zayn muttered, embarrassed. He thought about taking a cue from Liam and hiding under some furniture, but Louis scooped him up before he had the chance. 

Settling on the sofa, Louis lifted Zayn into the air so they were face to face. “I can’t believe I”m going to do this.” He pressed his forehead to Zayn’s. “Talk to me, mate.”

“Fuck off,” he snarled.

“Language!” Louis snapped before gasping. “Holy shit!”

“Language,” Zayn snarked back, laughing which came out as a snuffling sound that caused Louis to laugh and lose his grip. Zayn tumbled to the sofa with a huff. 

“Maybe we should try this lying down.” Louis dropped to the ground on his stomach, laying the sketchbook on the floor in front of him before resting his chin on his hands, waiting for Zayn to mirror him. Once they were able to make strong eye contact, Louis spoke again. “Okay, spill. What’s with the sketchbook?”

“Nothing,” Zayn responded, thankful that he couldn’t blush because his cheeks still felt warm and he knew as a human he’d be a pale pink colour underneath the olive tint of his skin. Unfortunately, he had to hold eye contact when all he really wanted to do was hide from Louis.

“Just because you’re adorable as a puppy doesn’t mean you can lie to me,” Louis said. “Why are you drawing Liam and why have I never seen this one before?” He tapped the sleek silver cover with the Avengers’ logo scratched into it.

“Gift from Liam,” Zayn said. “Last Christmas after you all left to go home. He tossed it at me as he was running out the door.”

“Liam didn’t have your name for the gift exchange though. He had Harry. Bought him that healthy cookbook or something,” Louis said, squinting his eyes as he thought back. “Yeah. Liam had Harry. Harry had Niall. Niall had me. I had you. You had Liam.”

“I know,” Zayn responded. “Wasn’t expecting it. So, I hid it because I didn’t want anyone else feeling badly that Liam had gotten me a gift.”

“Not really a surprise,” Louis said after a moment. “You’ve always been Liam’s favourite.”

“Not lately I haven’t,” Zayn huffed out, pointedly turning his face away from Louis, wanting to be done with this conversation.

Louis tilted his head, looking thoughtful. “Not true. He’s always happier when you’re here, you just aren’t here.”

“I’m here and he gets all pouty.” He thought about the attitude and cold shoulder Liam had been giving him lately, particularly the night before. Louis gently turned his face towards him with raised eyebrows, so Zayn repeated himself.

“Before or after you cancel plans with him?” 

Zayn started to argue and stopped as what Louis said sank in. He let his mind wander back to the argument they’d had the night before. 

_ Zayn came racing home from his shift at the library, flying into their room and skidding to a stop when he spotted Liam standing there in just a pair of joggers, a couple of DVD cases in his hand. _

_ “You’re home early!” he shouted, his smile so wide that his eyes crinkled at the corners and Zayn tried not to admit how endearing that was. He held up the cases to show Zayn the covers. “Which do you want to watch? Or maybe we can do both since it’s early.” Liam turned away still mumbling to himself as Zayn felt his heart sink slightly. _

_ “Er…” _

_ “Not in the mood for Marvel?” Liam asked as he turned around, shrugging. “Alright, what do you want to watch?” _

_ “Actually-” Zayn began and saw the smile tighten on Liam’s face and the glow leave his eyes completely. _

_ “You’re cancelling,” he said. “Again.” Zayn felt his cheeks warm at the accusation as Liam turned away, tossing the cases with more force than necessary, knocking the small puppy figurine that Zayn had given him for Christmas off the wardrobe. There was a quiet sound of something breaking. “Shit.”  _

_ Zayn moved to help and Liam whirled around on him. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?” he snapped and Zayn jerked away in surprise. _

_ “It’s just dinner with GiGi and the people in my art history class to discuss a project. I’ll come home right after so we can still hang out,” Zayn told him, suddenly wanting to do anything he could to erase the look on Liam’s face. If it weren’t for a school project, he’d probably even cancel on dinner; in fact, maybe he should anyway. _

_ “Don’t bother,” Liam muttered turning away and kneeling to reach between the bed and wardrobe. “I don’t need your pity.” The quiet hurt in his voice hit even harder than the loud anger, each word almost a physical blow. Zayn couldn’t put a finger on the emotion that ran through him as he spun on his heel and hurried from the room and Liam’s anger. “Have fun with your girlfriend!” he heard shouted after him and he turned to argue, but was met by the door to their room slamming shut. _

_ Pressing his ear to the door, he could hear Liam muttering and the sound of furniture moving. He must have been picking up the pieces of the broken- _

He remembered pressing his ear to the door and hearing Liam muttering and the sound of furniture moving. He figured he must have been trying to retrieve the pieces of the broken- “I think I know what happened,” Zayn said, snapping back to the present, disappointed to find Louis had fallen asleep across from him. It seemed like a crazy idea, but he’d always thought there was something strange about the figurine his friend had shoved into his hands and  _ insisted _ he give Liam for Christmas.

With a huff, Zayn pushed himself to stand and made his way to his room, moving slowly as he remembered that Liam was still angry. As he passed the bathroom, he stopped and went inside, looking for his jeans. He dove into the pile of clothing, his nose burning as soon as he did. “What the hell?” he muttered as the cloying scent covering them made him sneeze several times in a row.

Attempting to hold his breath while tugging on the waistband of his jeans, he managed to get them away from the pile and out into the hallway before having to take a deep breath. He was glad the scent was slightly less now that he was away from his jacket and shirt, realizing the odor was Gigi’s perfume that he’d gotten spritzed with the night before when she’d spotted the girl she’d been crushing on across the bar and primped before going over to ask her to dance.

Pawing at the denim, Zayn let out a happy yelp when he hit the hard lump that was his wallet. He tried to slip it out, but the absence of opposable thumbs made the task impossible. Glaring at the pocket, he took the chain between his teeth before spitting it out, the metallic taste making him nauseous. He opened his mouth to bark but thought better of it before heading back to the sitting room where Louis was still sleeping.

He stood next to Louis debating the best way to wake him up, finally deciding to take a few steps backward and running and leaping to land squarely on Louis’ back. Louis jumped sending Zayn tumbling off him and rolling underneath the coffee table, laughing the whole time. He righted himself and peeked out at Louis who was glaring, but his lips were quirking from the effort to hide a smile as he pushed himself to his feet.

Zayn lumbered out and nipped at Louis’ ankle, chuckling when he jumped out of the way, closer to the hallway and Zayn’s jeans. He nipped again, eventually getting Louis to move and trip over his jeans, landing on the floor with a thud and a curse. “I am so kicking your arse when you’re human again,” he muttered, pushing himself up to a sitting position and watching as Zayn pawed at the chain to his wallet. “You need your wallet? Planning to do a little shopping? Need a new chew toy?”

Zayn growled and lunged at Louis, knocking him backward and biting at his tee. The two of them wrestled for a few minutes, laughing and barking before someone cleared their throat behind them. Zayn looked up to see Harry and Niall standing in the doorway of his and Liam’s room, smiling fondly at them.

“Liam’s sleeping,” Harry whispered.

“Is he alright?” Louis asked, sitting up again and reaching for Zayn’s jeans to extricate his wallet. 

“He’s out from under the bed, but he didn’t share why he was so upset. I’m sure it was the usual,” Harry said with a shrug.

“The usual?” Zayn asked, frustrated when the others gave him blank looks. He huffed and took his wallet into his mouth and began to walk towards the bedroom, dragging his jeans behind him by the chain.

He growled when Louis picked him up, plucking the wallet out of his mouth and pressing their foreheads together. “Replay.”

“I’m not Liam,” he snapped and then growled when Louis swatted his nose. He struggled to get away but gave up when Louis grip around his middle just got stronger, as did the press of his forehead. “What did Harry mean by the usual?” he growled out quietly.

“He meant that Liam’s upset about the same thing he’s always upset about lately,” Louis said, wrinkling his nose when Zayn huffed. “Doggie breath.” He laughed when Zayn licked his nose suddenly and huffed out again.

“What did Liam say to you when he was barking and growling at you?” Niall asked, watching the exchange.

_ “Fuck you and your little bitch, too!”  _ rang through Zayn’s memory. He whimpered at the remembered anger and hurt in Liam’s voice as he turned his eyes away from Louis, meeting Harry’s soft gaze. 

“What is it?” Harry asked, petting over Zayn’s head and scratching behind his ears. 

_ “I’m really liking that a lot more than I should,”  _ he thought before turning back to Louis. “He said, ‘Fuck you and your little bitch, too!’” Zayn huffed again as Louis’ eyes widened. “Who’s my little bitch?”

“Other than Liam?” Louis asked, jerking back before Zayn could bite his nose. “C’mon, Zee, you know as well as any of us that Liam would do anything you tell him to.” Zayn started to say something, but Louis gave him a knowing look. “We know you know because you’ve been taking advantage lately.”

Zayn tried to argue but found that there was nothing he could say to deny the fact. He also hated to admit that Louis might have a point about how he’d been treating Liam. He’d canceled plans with him more often than not, but last night had been the first time he’d seen Liam upset about it and his immediate reaction had been surprise. He’d begun taking for granted that Liam would always understand.

“Why have you been avoiding him?” Niall asked, moving to stand next to Louis and tickling under Zayn’s chin.

“‘M not,” he muttered, but he wasn’t looking at them so they only heard a small whimper. He tried to wiggle around so he could grasp the wallet again, but Louis held it out of his reach. With a groan that sounded more like a growl, he allowed Niall to press their foreheads together. “I’m not avoiding him.”

“Really? Before Christmas, the two of you were inseparable. Hell, since the day we all moved in here, you were never very far from each other.” Zayn felt the desire to chew his lower lip, but couldn’t manage in his current form, remembering all the time they used to spend together. “Then we all went home for the winter hols and now since we’ve been back, you haven’t spent an evening here. Spending all of your time with that girl in your-”

“Which is probably who Liam was calling ‘little bitch’,” Louis threw in. “Poor boy’s jealous of your girlfriend.”

Zayn heard a noise from the other room and began trying to get down, refusing to acknowledge the statement, tired of denying it if no one was going to believe him anyway. He’d just about managed to wiggle loose, but Louis just tightened his grip. “If Liam’s cheesed off at you, he’s not going to want to see you.”

Harry scoffed and reached over to pull Zayn away from Louis. “Liam always wants to see Zayn, no matter how upset he is.”

“I think all that snarling and snapping earlier says differently,” Louis responded, hugging Zayn tighter to his chest.

“Put me down,” Zayn barked out, huffing when that only caused Louis to hold him tighter, starting to make breathing a bit difficult.

“Guys?” Zayn heard Liam call out. “Harry? Niall?” The other boys ignored Liam’s quiet yips, but Zayn stopped struggling to listen. “Tommo?” He waited again, fearing he wouldn’t hear what he wanted, no needed, to hear. “Zee?” His name had been the quietest, almost a whimper that he wasn’t sure the others even heard, but then Louis was setting him on the ground.

“Go to him,” Louis said, not knowing what Liam had been saying, but hearing the hurt anyway.

Zayn padded his way slowly into the room, looking up at the bed, seeing Liam’s head and paws hanging over the edge. “Hey,” he said lowly from the doorway.

“Hey,” Liam echoed. “I’m sorry.”

“Me, too,” Zayn told him, moving to the bed and putting his paws on it just below Liam’s, but not quite reaching; he’d never realized how tall their beds were. A moment later he was being lifted and set next to Liam, he turned to see Harry kneeling next to the bed and smiling, Louis and Niall standing in the doorway. He started to lie down next to Liam, but stopped himself and instead sat so his paws were just brushing Liam’s side.

Liam rolled over onto his back, looking up at Zayn, puppy eyes on full display. “I’m sorry I called your girlfriend a…” He trailed off, looking away.

“A little bitch?” Zayn asked, knowing it was mean to throw Liam’s words back at him, but even though he hated when Liam was upset with him, he was still confused enough to be a bit mean.

“Yeah, that,” Liam said, rolling over to his stomach again, further from Zayn and burying his head under a blanket.

With a huff, Zayn grabbed the blanket in his teeth and yanked it off of Liam. He flopped down and laid his head on Liam’s back, chuckling when Harry cooed at them, thankful Liam didn’t try to shake him off. “I don’t have a girlfriend, Liam.”

“Yeah, right,” he huffed, trying to pull away and managing to send himself falling off the bed, thankfully Harry catching him before he hit the ground. He struggled, thankful when Harry set him on the ground rather than back on the bed next to Zayn. “It’s Gigi this and Gigi that. Your clothes reek of her!” Liam barked. “You would rather be with her than with your mates, than with me! If that’s not a girlfriend, I don’t know what is!”

“SHUT UP!” Zayn roared, knowing his actions had given Liam the wrong idea, but sick and tired of him not listening. The growl the other boys heard echoing off the walls and Harry started making motions with his hands like he wasn’t sure what to do or who to comfort.

Liam was startled by the venom in Zayn’s voice, but instead of fighting back he just gave a shake of his head and started to pad out of the room. He was over this entire situation. Ignoring Zayn’s shouts for him to get his arse back in the bedroom, he kept walking until he reached the front door. The folly of his plan became apparent when he realized he had no way of opening the door. He sat and stared hard at it, hoping one of the other boys would open it up so he could escape into the great outdoors. He didn’t know what he would do once he was beyond the door, but he’d figure something out. Maybe he’d become a stray. There were tons of them around. He’d find a pack. Be a wild dog.

He was warming up to the idea when he heard noise behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he noticed Zayn racing towards him and had just enough time to move to avoid contact. Instead, Zayn went head first into the door and let out a loud yelp before falling to the floor and lying motionless. Liam stared at his friend for a moment before moving forward and nudging his nose against the side of his head. “Zee?” he asked quietly but received no response.

He licked at Zayn’s nose and called his name quietly again, but he didn’t move at all. Swallowing hard, Liam started yelling for the other boys and he could hear the howling sound he was letting out as Louis came running, face panicked. He stopped, Niall and Harry slamming into his back and knocking him to the ground so that he was eye level with Liam.

“What did you do?” Louis asked, pushing himself to his knees and reaching for Zayn who didn’t make a sound as he was picked up and gathered to Louis’ chest. 

Liam didn’t hear the question. He just kept howling, even when Niall knelt to pick him up, he kept howling. In his own head he was crying out Zayn’s name, but he knew the others had no way of knowing. “Shhh, Liam,” Niall whispered into his fur, trying to calm him. “Is Zayn alright?”

Louis was feeling around Zayn’s body while saying his name quietly. He was panicked but was doing a good job of hiding it. Finally, he felt a weak heartbeat in Zayn’s chest and let out a sigh of relief. “He’s alive,” he said.

Harry pushed past, opening the door, car keys gripped tightly in his hand. “I know where the nearest emergency vet is,” he said. “Let’s go.”

Louis hurried out with Zayn in his arms, still talking to his motionless form. Niall turned away from the door and Liam began thrashing in his arms, barking wildly. Niall tried to hold a hand over his muzzle and Liam fought really hard not to bite the boy. Harry stuck his head back in the door. “You better just come and bring him.”

Liam immediately settled once Niall headed out the door, returning to a quiet howling of Zayn’s name. As soon as they were in the car, Liam’s howl increased because Louis was in the front with Zayn in his lap and Niall had gotten into the back. “Just hand him over, Ni, or it’s going to be a really long drive,” Harry said, reaching for Liam and placing him on Louis’ lap next to Zayn. 

He snuggled into Zayn’s side, his howling turning to quiet whimpers as he pleaded with Zayn to wake up. “You can’t leave me. I need you too much.” He kept alternating his words with nuzzles and licks, but Zayn didn’t even twitch. 

Louis’ fingers were running gently over Liam’s scalp, trying to provide comfort through touch and words, but when Liam looked up, he saw the same fear he was trying to swallow down reflected in blue eyes. He turned his head to nudge at Louis’ fingers before licking gently, happy to see a small smile quirk across Louis’ lips, even if he knew it meant he’d get shit for it when he was himself again. If he was ever himself again.

His eyes fell on Zayn. If something happened, if the worst thing happened, Liam didn’t want to be human again. It was his fault that his friend was like this, lying unconscious, looking dead. If he’d just kept his jealousy to himself, none of this would’ve happened. Maybe they would’ve even figured out how to change back - together. Instead, he was willing to face eternity as a dog for possibly killing the most important person in his life. He whimpered and buried his face in Zayn’s neck, trying to will him to wake up and hiding his tears from the others.

He growled when he felt Zayn being pulled away from him, but he realized the car had stopped and Louis was getting out of the vehicle. He started to shut the door, leaving Liam where he was, but after a sharp bark, Niall ducked in and grabbed him. “You know it’s bad to leave a dog in a locked car,” he reprimanded Louis who rolled his eyes.

“You sure this is a vet?” Louis asked and Liam looked to take in the store front. It was unassuming, but the  _ Phenomenal Paws and Claws _ painted on the window let him know there was something animal related going on behind the glass door.

“Yeah, Zayn mentioned it once and, according to Siri, it’s got good reviews and it’s twenty-four hours.” Harry pulled open the door, waiting as everyone else passed through.

Liam sneezed when they got through the door, the smell of incense strong inside. As he looked around, he was surprised that it looked a bit like a curio shop. A woman smiled at them from behind the counter, murmuring a soft, “Bless you, pup.”

“Thank you,” he muttered out of habit.

“You’re welcome,” she murmured back.

Liam tilted his head as he gaped at her, everyone else seemed to miss the exchange. Louis moved closer to her with Zayn in his arms. “Ma’am.”

“No,” she interrupted, running a heavily ringed hand through her greying red hair with a sigh. “I am Lynne. Not ma’am.” Her voice was soft but firm and Liam decided he liked her and tried to urge Niall closer by pushing himself against his arms.

Louis smiled at her, instantly charmed from all appearances. “Well, Lynne, our pup here needs a vet, but I’m not sure this is the right place.” He glanced around the store, smiling at the bright trinkets that covered shelves and walls.

She glanced down at Zayn in his hands and gasped. “What happened?” she asked as she pressed a button on the counter to her left.

“We’re not sure, really. We heard Liam over there howling and when we came out, Zayn was like this,” Louis explained, laying him on the counter, but not taking his hands away.

“Zayn?” she questioned as a man came through a door behind her, dressed in a white coat and carrying a puggle in a black harness.

“What’s going on, love?” he asked, setting the dog on the counter watching as it hobbled on three legs over to Zayn, sniffing at him before whimpering and looking up at the woman. “One of yours?” The woman shrugged, looking sheepish. He shook his head, a fond smile as he turned back to the others. “What happened?”

Before Louis could repeat himself, the woman made a “gimme” motion at Liam. Niall handed him over, arguing that Liam was fine. Liam barked a protest when the woman held him like a baby but cut off when she started tickling his belly. “Now, Liam, what happened to your friend?” Liam giggled. “Stop that laughing and tell me.” The entire room fell silent, including Liam who blinked up at her.

“What?” he asked. She poked him again. “Stop tickling me!”

“There we go,” she responded with a smile. “Now, how did Zayn get hurt?” She turned away from the narrow-eyed look that the vet gave her.

“Wait, you understand him?” Harry asked, his voice slower than usual with awe. “Without pressing your foreheads together?” Lynne’s smile was soft as she nodded at Harry while running a finger down the bridge of Liam’s nose before tapping the tip lightly.

Liam was growing more and more confused, but he started talking, wanting someone to help Zayn, even if it was this crazy woman. “He was mad and tried to attack me, but I moved and - Hey!” Liam barked at the puggle who was nudging Zayn. “Back away, buddy!”

“His name is Charlie and he’s just worried about your friend. Now you moved and what happened?” the woman said, drawing Liam’s attention back to her.

“He hit his head on the door and fell in a heap. He hasn’t made a move or sound since,” Liam choked out, feeling his throat tightening. A hand ran over the top of his head, looking up, he saw the man in the white coat looking down at him. “Do you understand me, too?”

“He doesn’t understand your words, but your puppy sounds are clear enough,” she explained as she set Liam next to Zayn. He laid down, his chin on Zayn’s back, eying Charlie as the other dog laid down on the other side of Zayn. Lynne told the group exactly what Liam had told her.

“Alright, now that we have that settled, I’m Dr. O’Brien, but you can call me Paddy. This is my partner, Lynne.” The look he gave her, told Liam he meant more than business partner. Picking Zayn up gently in one arm, he scratched behind Liam’s ears with the other. “I’m going to take your buddy in the back for a couple of x-rays. One of the still-humans can come with me, but the rest of you must stay out here.” He walked out holding Zayn, Louis following behind.

“What about me?” Liam asked, looking up at Lynne who gave him a sad smile. 

“I’m sorry, sweetie. You have to stay out here with us for now,” she explained. “I think I have some biscuits if you’d like.”

“No, I would not like,” Liam snapped. “I want to go with Zayn.”

“Don’t be rude,” another voice responded and Liam looked around wildly. “Over here, dumbass.” Eyes wide, he looked at the puggle who was sitting on his haunches looking amused. “What? You thought you and the knockout kid were the only ones who could talk?” He snorted, earning a swat to the nose from Lynne.

“Be nice, Charlie,” she admonished.

“Um, excuse me,” Harry said, looking at everyone, he and Niall sharing bewildered expressions. “What is going on?”

Lynne smiled as she gestured to a sofa and a couple of chairs set up near the back of the shop. Niall picked up Liam, who was still staring at Charlie with suspicion, and carried him over. He settled on the floor, holding Liam in his lap as Lynne set Charlie on the ground. The puggle made his way over, sitting a short distance from Liam, looking down at him like a wise sage. Once Lynne was settled in one of the over stuffed chairs, he laid by her feet. Harry settled onto the sofa, looking at a bit of a loss what to do or say beyond repeating his question.

“I know for certain that until a few days ago, Zayn did not have four legs and a tail.” Liam tilted his head, trying to understand what she was saying. Was she saying she knew Zayn? He couldn’t remember Zayn mentioning a Lynne. She continued, seemingly unaware of Liam’s inner questions. “And I’m assuming that until, hopefully, very recently, Liam did not either.” She nudged Charlie with her foot when he chuckled.

“This morning,” Harry replied, looking down at Liam. “They woke up like that.”

“No, I woke up like this,” Liam argued. “Zayn was in the shower after being out all night with his girlfriend.” The last part was growled out, earning him a rub between the ears from Niall who had his eyes narrowed like he was trying to understand.

“Girlfriend?” Lynne asked, looking confused. “Zayn’s never mentioned a girlfriend, has he, Charlie?”

“Nope. Bored now,” he said, looking up at Lynne. “Gonna go check on Zee.”

“My Zee,” Liam snarled. “If you go, I go.” He scrambled to get out of Niall’s arms, finally managing and crossing the floor to stand next to Charlie, surprised just how much bigger than him he was now that they were both standing. When Charlie snarled at him, he didn’t back down though.

“Boys,” Lynne said, smiling her thanks when Niall scooped a barking Liam up. “Paddy will come and get you when the x-rays are completed. Just be patient.” Liam gave one last glare to Charlie, or rather the spot he’d been in. “Charlie, get back here,” she called, laughing when the dog reappeared with a bag of treats in his mouth. “Are you going to share?”

With a huff, he walked over and set the bag next to Niall’s knee, looking up at Liam. “I’m not eating dog treats,” Liam snapped before turning to Lynne. “Sorry. Thank you for the offer.”

“More for me,” Charlie said, picking the bag up in his mouth again, but stopping when Lynne cleared her throat. He put the bag back down. 

“They are made with all human and canine friendly ingredients,” Lynne explained and Niall eyed the bag with interest.

“Like Scooby Snacks,” Charlie provided.

Liam’s stomach gave a small growl, but he refused to acknowledge the bag. Next thing he knew, Niall was opening the bag and pulling a treat out. With a shrug, the blond popped it into his mouth and chewed. “Wow,” he said. “You gotta try one, Li.” He pulled another one out and held it in front of Liam’s snout. After a couple of sniffs, he took it carefully between his teeth and nibbled at it, agreeing with Niall’s assessment. 

“So, how come you can understand Liam?” Harry asked.

Lynne pulled her lower lip between her teeth and looked down at her hands, one twisting the rings of the other. “I have a gift for communication with animals, especially those that were once human.”

“You mean this is something that happens a lot?” Niall asked, looking at Charlie with his eyes narrowed.

“Not  _ a lot _ , but it does happen,” she explained, running a hand over Charlie’s head. “Charlie is a born-canine, not like Liam and Zayn.”

“What causes it? Is it reversible?” Harry asked.

“It can be caused by many different things, but normally an enchantment of some sort,” she responded, rising to her feet and approaching a shelf of books. She ran her fingers over the spines until she found one and pulled it out. She flipped the pages quickly, scanning one before giving a satisfied nod and handing it to Harry, still open. She resumed her seat. “Most of them are linked to emotions and objects.”

“How do you know so much about this?” Niall asked as Harry read.

“My guess is that she may have had a hand in this bit of magic,” Paddy said as he and a somber-looking Louis reentered the room.

Liam jumped to his feet, the half-eaten biscuit falling away and forgotten until Charlie snatched it up and swallowed it down. “Where’s Zayn?” he barked, running to Paddy and jumping against his legs.

Paddy squatted down and picked Liam up, looking at Lynne who translated. “Zayn is still unconscious, but his x rays are clear, so I’ve put him into a recovery room with an IV of fluids. Whatever is keeping him sleeping isn’t physical. We’re going to need to keep him here for awhile.”

Louis reached for Liam. “Time to head home.”

“No!” Liam barked and even without pressing their foreheads together, Louis got the gist of what his friend had said. Holding his hands up in surrender, he looked to the others for help. “I’m not leaving.” He turned his attention to Lynne who had approached, doing his best to turn on puppy eyes. “I can’t leave him. It’s my fault and I can’t let him wake up alone! I’m the only one who knows what he’s going through.”

Lynne blinked back tears as she pressed her lips together and took Liam from Paddy. “Looks like Zayn will have a roommate while he’s here,” she said with finality and carried him out of the room. Liam didn’t even look to see how the others reacted, just began whispering his thanks and trying to lick at Lynne’s face. “Stop that. What would Zayn think?”

Liam stopped. “What do you mean?” He was confused when they entered a large room. He’d expected walls of cages or at least large crates, but instead, the room held a few large dog beds that more closely resembled toddler beds. Lying atop a blue quilt on one was Zayn, looking even smaller than he had earlier. A short IV pole stood next to the cushion, the clear tubing running down and underneath a bandage on Zayn’s front left paw.

“You two have a lot to talk about,” Lynne told Liam as she set him next to Zayn on the bed. 

Liam sniffed at Zayn, the medicinal smell coming off of him turning his stomach slightly. He glanced around the room, spotting a pile of blankets near the door, a Green Lantern logo visible on one near the bottom of the pile. “A blanket, please? The superhero one?”

She found the blanket and brought it back, draping over both puppies. “Do you need anything else?”

“No. Thank you for letting me stay,” he told her. She patted him on the head and made to stand up when Liam thought of something. “Paddy said you may have had something to do with this. Did you?”

She settled cross-legged on the floor, elbows on her knees and chin resting on her folded hands as she studied the two puppies. “Zayn’s been volunteering here a couple of times a month,” she began. “He comes in and cleans cages and plays with the animals. Occasionally, he’ll help me in the shop, dusting, helping customers, whatever’s needed.”

“This is where he’s been volunteering? He’d told me he was helping out a couple, but I figured it was some old couple.” Liam was pretty sure he would’ve been blushing if he were human.

“Well, thank you for realizing we aren’t old,” she told him, smiling. “He spoke of you. All the time.”

“Probably complained about his annoying flatmate,” Liam muttered.

“Never.” She looked him over with a sad smile. “Liam, you two really need to talk,” she told him as she stood. “He can probably hear you, so talk to him now.”

“You still didn’t tell me what you had to do with this,” Liam said, stopping her.

“What did Zayn give you for Christmas?” she asked.

“A cute little figurine of two puppies playing tug-o-war,” Liam replied, wincing when he remembered knocking it off the wardrobe the night before and breaking the rope between the two. They were now sitting separately on his nightstand. “I broke it.”

“I’m guessing sometime last night? During an argument?” 

“How did you-”

Lynne set the book she’d shown Harry earlier next to Liam. “I know you can’t really turn pages now,” she told him. “After you talk to Zayn, it might explain better than I can.” She pressed a kiss to her fingertips before touching them to the top of first Zayn’s head and then Liam’s. “Good night, Liam. If, heavens forbid, something happens, there is a button by the door you should be able to reach.” She waved a hand and Liam looked to see what she was referring to and nodded.

He watched her moving across the room, hitting the light switch on her way out, leaving the room lit only by the lights in the car park that were shining through the window. He nosed at the book, trying to open it to read it, but only managed to flip it over and off the pillow. Sighing, he moved to lie next to Zayn, nosing at his ear and whispering his name. 

He hated to see Zayn like this, lost to the world, lost to him. He thought about Lynne’s advice and began talking. “You need to wake up, Zee. I know you like your sleep and everything, but this is excessive, even for you.” He hoped to hear a snicker or something, but the only sound was the low hum of the ceiling fan.

Liam moved so his side was pressed to Zayn’s, placing one of his paws atop the one free of the bandage. Watching his friend, listening to him breathe, he took a deep breath of his own and started talking, hoping the puppy sounds he was making wouldn’t disturb any of the other animals or people running around. “I’m sorry we fought. I hate fighting with you. I hate how things have been between us lately. Ever since you started taking a class with that girl.” 

Liam quieted as he started going over the mental list he hadn’t realized he’d been keeping of all the times Zayn had cancelled plans to be with her. He included the times he didn’t even make an excuse, he just didn’t show up. As he worked backward through the list starting the night before, he realized something. “Maybe it’s not her. Now that I think about it, you’ve been avoiding me since we got back from winter holidays.” He remembered arriving back at the flat, after several weeks of being home and barely hearing from Zayn, so excited to see his mate. He’d waited up trying to decide which stories from break to tell him first, but by the time he’d fallen asleep from exhaustion, Zayn still hadn’t come home. In fact, the next morning, his bed was still as neat as it had been the night before.

“Did I do something?” Liam’s voice was small and he knew there wouldn’t be an answer, but he had to ask. He pulled his paw away from Zayn’s digging his paws into the cushion, knowing he’d been fidgeting his fingers if he were human. “Was it the sketchbook? I just couldn’t not pick it up when I saw it.” He thumped his chin against the cushion a few times. “Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.”

Liam stopped his self-abuse when he felt something land on his paw. Looking down, Zayn’s paw was lying where it hadn’t been a few moments earlier. “Zee?” he whispered, but there was no response. Pushing to stand, he tapped a paw against Zayn’s nose. “C’mon, Zee.” When there was still no response, he figured his movements had caused the shift in position.

“I knew giving it to you would be a mistake,” Liam finally admitted, sitting so his back was to Zayn, unable to look at him while he spoke. “A part of me was screaming if I gave it to you, no matter how casual I tried to make it seem, you would know how I felt about you. I knew that if you figured it out, it would ruin everything and you’d never speak to me again. It looks like I was right and I hate myself.” He sighed. “You’re my best mate and I had to go and fall in love with you.” 

He made his way off the cushion to the floor, heading over to the button on the wall. He’d have Lynne get one of the boys to pick him up and then he’d figure out how to move out of the flat. His brain went back to considering becoming a stray. Maybe if he waited until someone opened the door to the vet’s office, he could slip out into the street and be out of everyone’s hair. Honestly, he didn’t much care what happened to him at this point. There was no reason to be human if it meant making his best mate uncomfortable.

He lifted a paw to press the button when he heard a small sound behind him. Dropping his paw to the ground, he turned to see Zayn wriggling on the cushion. “Li?” came a voice so quiet and unsure it broke his heart. 

Racing back to Zayn, Liam barked and called his name over and over. “Zayn! You’re alive!” He leapt and landed next to Zayn on the bed, causing him to tumble and roll to the other edge. Quickly, Liam grabbed him by the scruff to keep him from falling to the floor.

“Didn’t know you were into biting,” Zayn grumbled, causing Liam to laugh, but it sounded strange with Zayn’s fur clamped between his teeth. He didn’t let go until Zayn managed to push himself unsteadily to his feet. He turned his head slowly, looking around the room. “Are we at  _ Phenom _ ?” He glanced down at his bandaged paw and shook it. “Why do I have this?”

“You bumped your head and wouldn’t wake up,” Liam said, staying close to Zayn as he moved around the cushion, steps still unsteady and limited by the IV tubing. “Maybe you should lie back down.”

“Stop hovering,” Zayn snapped, his memories of their argument coming back to him as he took in his surroundings and tried to figure out what was going on.

Liam sighed and moved off the cushion, heading to the door again, ready to follow through with his original plan to run away. He had just reached it when Zayn yelled his name. “What do you want? You told me to stop hovering and I did.” He refused to turn and look at him, but he also didn’t lift a paw to press the button.

“I said to stop hovering, not leave!” Zayn snapped, lowering his head over his paws and snarling. “Why are you being such a prat?!”

Liam’s eyes narrowed as he turned around, mirroring Zayn’s position. “Me? I’m a prat? I’m not the one who dumped his best friend just because he had feelings for him!”

Zayn was shifting forward when Liam’s words sank in. He felt a lump forming in his throat as he realized that Liam had figured it all out. He’d realized that Zayn was in love with him and now he hated him. With a whimper, Zayn felt his rear end curve inwards, imagining if he had more of a tail it would be tucked between his legs. “I didn’t mean to.” His voice was quiet and he wasn’t even sure Liam heard him. He really hadn’t meant to fall in love and he really hadn’t meant to push Liam out of his life.

“Well, you did! You just shoved me away like I meant nothing! I’m sorry, alright!” Liam shouted back and Zayn shook his head trying to follow his words. Liam pushed to stand again. “I’m leaving and you can’t stop me. Good luck turning back.”

“Don’t go,” Zayn whimpered before he could stop himself. “Why are you apologizing if I’m the arse? I’m the one who screwed up.”

Liam huffed. “You might have screwed up, but I’m the idiot that...” He trailed off still staring at the button on the wall. “If I hadn’t fallen in love with you-”

“What?” Zayn asked, trying to get off the cushion but the IV deterring him. “You’re in love with me?”

Liam rolled his eyes and turned around to face Zayn, hurriedly crossing the room when he realized that he was trying to climb off the cushion; he might be hurt and upset, but he didn't’ want Zayn getting injured further. Once he was on the cushion, he huffed out a laugh when Zayn pushed against him, knocking him over onto his back. Then he climbed atop Liam, pinning him to the cushion.

“Get off me,” Liam growled playfully.

“No. Not until you answer. You’re in love with me?” Zayn nipped at Liam’s ear when he tried to bury his face in his paws. “C’mon, man.”

“Like you didn’t already know. It’s why you’ve been avoiding me, yeah? That’s what you said,” Liam muttered, his voice barely audible from between his paws.

“No, I didn’t,” Zayn argued. He thought back over their argument. “You accused me of dumping my best mate because I had feelings for him. You figured out that I had feelings for you and didn’t-”

“You have feelings for me?” Liam interrupted, dropping his paws to look up at Zayn.

“Yeah, you figured out that’s why I haven’t been around because I didn’t want you to feel un-” He cut off when Liam suddenly rolled them over, moving to pin Zayn to the cushion.

“We are both idiots,” he huffed. If they were human, he knew this would be the moment they would share a huge romantic kiss just like in all those terrible movies Harry made them sit through when it was his night to choose the film.

“I’m confused,” Zayn admitted, trying to follow any train of thought to arrive at the same station of understanding that Liam already had.

“Nice to be the one who’s not confused for once,” Liam said, pressing his nose against Zayn’s. “I’m in love with you. You have feelings for me, hopefully, the same feelings I have for you. You are the idiot who ran away from your feelings and I’m the idiot who thought you were running away from mine.”

“You love me. You’re in love with me,” Zayn repeated, staring into Liam’s eyes.

“Yes,” Liam repeated, locking their gazes. “I’m in love with you. Truly, madly, deeply in love with you.” He giggled when Zayn rolled his eyes. “Your feelings for me? Are they like mine for you?”

“Yes, you donut,” Zayn offered, and his eyes glittered with happiness. “I’m in love with you, too. Truly, madly and all that rot.”

Liam nudged their noses together. “If you had died, I wouldn’t care if I ever became human again. Now, I just want to become human again so I can kiss you.”

“I second that thought, but we don’t even know how to become human again,” Zayn said, sighing and letting his head fall back on the bed.

“Lynne might help. She left a book,” Liam said, climbing off of Zayn and going to retrieve the book. He took it gently in his teeth and pulled it towards the center of the cushion. “I tried to open it, but it didn’t work.”

Zayn got to his feet, still feeling a bit unsteady, his head was hurting a little bit, like a mild hangover, but he didn’t want Liam to see and start fussing. Moving to the book, he nudged at the cover with his nose and grunted when nothing happened. He tilted his head, studying the book, wishing it were a hardcover so he’d have a chance to grip the cover between his teeth. He was beginning to think his only option would be tearing at it like the sketchbook.

“We could press the button,” Liam suggested, jerking his nose towards the wall.

Zayn looked up at the clock on the wall. It was nearing midnight and he knew that Lynne was probably sleeping and the girl who worked the counter overnight was not very nice. “No.” He watched Liam yawn, smiling in his head at how adorable he looked with that big puppy yawn and realizing it wasn’t that different than when he was human. “When was the last time you slept?”

“When I fell asleep between Harry and Niall,” he responded, trying to remember. “Not sure how long I was asleep for.”

“That was hours ago!” Zayn yelped. “And it wasn’t for very long, not even an hour, I would bet.” He turned in a few circles before snuggling into the cushion and raising a brow at Liam. “We might as well get some sleep and try to figure this out in the morning.”

Liam thought they should keep working, wanting to get back to normal as soon as, well, humanly possible. When he saw Zayn still watching him, he gave a sigh and moved over next to him, moving around in circles and kneading down the cushion before falling with a satisfied huff next to Zayn and laying his head over his back. 

He felt Zayn relaxing beneath his chin, his breathing slowing before he heard a quiet, “I love you, Leeyum.”

“Love you, too, Zee,” he said back, finally letting his own eyes close as a clock somewhere chimed twelve times.

***

Harry was sitting on Liam’s bed, his eyes going around the room. He’d tried sleeping, but every time he closed his eyes, he kept seeing Zayn unconscious and heard Liam’s howling. Finally, he’d extricated himself from Louis’ octopus-like grip to go make some tea, but found himself in here instead. He was just about to curl up in Liam’s bed when he heard a strange noise coming from the bin next to the wardrobe. Looking over, he sat up as the bin rattled and fell over. 

Leaning over the edge of the bed, he watched the opening of the bin carefully, fully expecting something alive to come tumbling out of it. Instead, he heard some music playing and saw a gentle gold glow coming from inside. Moving carefully off the bed and across the room, he got down on all fours and looked into the bin, squinting his eyes against the light.

As suddenly as the music started, it stopped and the glow went away. Blinking away the dark blotches he focused on what was lying in the bin. Reaching in, he pulled out the statue that Zayn had given Liam for Christmas. He remembered thinking it was cute, two puppies tugging on a rope, but as he looked at it in his hand, he realized the puppies looked exactly like Liam and Zayn as puppies.

***

Lynne padded down the stairs into the shop, smiling at the scowling girl behind the counter before handing over a coffee. She knew she should probably let the girl go, had gotten complaints from the few overnight customers they got, but she had a feeling about her. With a tilt of her head, she smiled as she sipped at the cup, finally smiling in return. 

“Go home,” Lynne told her and the girl nodded, leaving quickly.

“Morning, love,” Paddy said as he appeared at the bottom of the stairs. “How’s our patient?”

“Haven’t checked yet. Just sent Deidre home.” Paddy made a face. “Stop that.” Lynne laughed, swatting him on the bum as he passed, heading towards the back room to check on Zayn.

Lynne looked down at her hand, smiling as she pulled in her fingers one by one and let out a loud laugh as she pulled in the last one and Paddy yelled loudly, “Lynne!” as he barrelled back into the front room.

“Yes?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow and smirking around the brim of her mug.

“You can go deal with the naked men in our recovery room,” he told her, his voice and face stern, but the corners of his lips were twitching.

She hopped off the stool with a grin and began to move towards the room. “My pleasure,” she chirped, laughing when Paddy grabbed her around the waist, pulling her backward against him.

“On second thought…”

***

Liam jumped when he heard a loud voice shout. Glancing around, he tried to get his bearings. He pushed himself up, freezing when an arm tightened around his waist and a voice grumbled, “Too early.”

Liam smiled down at Zayn, eyes tracing his dark lashes as they fanned across his tanned skin. He reached a hand over to cup his cheek when something suddenly occurred to him. Laughter escaping him, he pinched Zayn’s cheek gently. “Zee. Wake up.”

“No,” he gruffed moving to bury his face in Liam’s chest, his breath tickling and causing Liam to laugh even harder. 

“Zayn,” he wheezed out, tickling at his sides.

Zayn did not want to wake up. His head was still hurting and he was comfortable, but now Liam was tickling him. His fingers digging into… Zayn’s thoughts trailed off as he blinked his eyes open and looked up into the smiling face he thought he’d never see again. “You’re…” he trailed off as he ran his finger down the bridge of Liam’s nose before poking at his birthmark.

“So are you!” he responded as he moved in closer to Zayn, their lips brushing.

“Morning breath,” Zayn argued, but found he really didn’t care, he was finally getting to kiss Liam like he’d been thinking about doing for months. It was easy to ignore their breath when their hearts were beating against each other in perfect rhythm. 

The sound of the door opening and a happy gasp caused them to pull apart, breathing heavily as they turned to see Harry standing there, smiling widely and holding something in his hands. “I brought you clothes,” he explained, pulling the rucksack from off his shoulder and dropping it on the cushion before showing them the item in his hands. “It did something weird last night and it looks different, right? I’m not just losing it?”

Liam pushed himself to sit upright, but keeping Zayn plastered to his side and the Green Lantern blanket over their laps before reaching out and taking the item from Harry. “This was broken,” he said, smiling as he looked at the statue. 

Zayn ran a finger over the pups. “That’s what you looked like,” he told Liam, tapping the Saint Bernard puppy. 

“And you looked like the Rottweiler,” Harry told him. “Did they look like that before?”

“No. They were more like spaniels,” Zayn told him.

“And this was definitely different,” Liam said, tapping the rope in the center. “And broken. Very broken.”

Zayn tilted his head smiling. “It kind of looks like a heart now?” He glanced off the bed and saw the book. “Hand me that, yeah?” Harry handed it to him and he started flipping pages until he found what he was looking for. “That sneaky witch,” he muttered.

“Who?” Liam asked, leaning to read over his shoulder and not quite understanding what had set Zayn off.

“Lynne,” he responded, shaking his head. “She did this because she was tired of me whining about you, I think.”

“She did say she might have had something to do with it,” Harry supplied, kneeling up to try and read the book as well, but it was upside down.

“You whined about me?” Liam asked.

Zayn felt his cheeks warm as he ducked his head. “Well, yeah, cause of the whole…” He trailed off and waved his hand in the air, hoping Liam would pick up on what he was saying without him actually having to say it.

“The whole being madly in love with Liam?” Harry asked as he plucked the book out of Zayn’s hands. “Says here that it only works on people with secrets and the spell is activated by elevated emotion and broken by coming clean.” He smiled as he looked up at the two of them who were back to tracing each other's faces and kissing fingertips and noses and cheeks. “Guess, you came clean.” As the kissing became a bit more intense, Harry cleared his throat and rose to his feet. “I’m just gonna leave you two alone.”

He was backing out of the room when he bumped into Lynne and Paddy. “They still don’t have clothes on?” Paddy asked, groaning and covering his eyes.

“Aw, stop it. They’re cute,” Lynne said, laying her head on his shoulder as she watched them, laughing when he covered her eyes.

“Totally adorable,” Harry agreed as he pulled the door shut, blocking them from sight. “That’s why they call it puppy love.” He laughed as the two of them tried to smack him.

**Author's Note:**

> Please feel free to come talk to me on Twitter or tumblr. I really love meeting new people!


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